Hyderabad, India, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state, is the fifth largest city in India. It was for the love of Bhagmati that the fifth king of Golkonda, Mohd Quli Qutbh Shah, founded the city of Bhagyanagar in 1589. Later when Bhagmati joined the royal house and received the title "Hyder Mahal," the king renamed the city Hyderabad. The metropolitan area is 259 sq. km. (100 sq. mi.), the altitude is 536 m. (1,758 ft.), and consists of twin cities (Hyderabad and Secunderabad) with a population of 2.2 million in 1987. The languages spoken include Telugu, Urdu, Hindi, and English. The city has great natural beauty which together with medieval Indian, Saracenic, Mughal and British colonial architecture creates an exuberance and richness rarely found in other cities of India.

The India Mennonite Brethren church in Hyderabad developed from the American Mennonite Brethren Mission (1899- ). The mission and church expanded by 1987 to nine congregations, a high school with ca. 2,000 students, and a Bible institute in Shamshabad near Hyderabad. The socio-economic impact of Christian relief agencies (Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Christian Service Fellowship of India, Mennonite Brethren Development Organization) is felt and appreciated much in and around the city of Hyderabad.